Scene One: The Wolves' Confrontation
The wind moved softly, like a beautiful woman caressing everything with a gentle hand.
The wolves stood before Rin and his team, their eyes gleaming with the hunger of predators that would leave nothing behind once they struck.
The beasts began to vanish between the trees, attacking from every direction.
Hayato charged forward like a tsunami of water, unstoppable and fierce.
Meanwhile, Rin stayed close to Saki, ready to defend her in case she was overwhelmed.
As Rin sliced through one of the wolves, he thought to himself:
This new sword... it's incredible. So light, yet so sharp. And with this grip design, it's almost impossible to drop.
The balance of battle was clearly on their side. Within minutes of intense fighting, the pack of wolves lay dead.
Rin stood amid their corpses, while Hayato bent down to retrieve one of his daggers from a wolf's body.
> Hayato: The gate's boss hasn't shown up yet. Seems like we'll need to go deeper into the forest.
Saki: You're right. But at this rate, we'll finish this mission quickly.
They began to move deeper into the woods.
Rin thought silently:
Strange... why hasn't the gate boss appeared yet? Normally, creatures inside level 4 or 5 gates are brainless — just pure power with no intellect. That's the usual case, at least.
Suddenly, sounds echoed around them. Everyone tensed up — Rin gripped his sword, Hayato readied his daggers, and Saki drew a small blade, prepared to heal and fight if needed.
> Hayato: Great, another wave, huh?
But it was simpler than that. A herd of deer darted past them in panic.
> Hayato: Deer...?
Saki: That's normal. Seems like there's a full ecosystem in here.
---
Scene Two: The Trap
They kept walking for a while without encountering anything.
> Hayato: How long is this going to last? No wolves for fifteen minutes.
Saki: True, nothing's appeared so far.
Hayato: Maybe they saw our strength. They could be gathering near their leader to protect him.
Rin: Maybe… yeah.
Rin's thoughts drifted again:
It's been twenty minutes actually… and still nothing. Are we even heading the right way?
Five more minutes passed. The trees thinned out, replaced by grass and small plants. The terrain formed several small hills arranged like a circle.
And when they stepped further in—
A massive group of wolves appeared ahead.
> Hayato: Finally!
Saki: They look... different. Bigger, stronger.
Rin: Yeah, I can see that.
Hayato: Doesn't matter. They'll fall all the same.
Saki: Just be careful.
Hayato: Don't worry, I got this.
Hayato charged in. Rin, however, couldn't shake off a bad feeling.
> Rin (to Saki): I'll go support Hayato. The numbers are too high. Can you handle yourself?
Saki: Don't underestimate me. Not all healers are helpless. Go!
Rin: Good.
---
Scene Three: The Sniper Wolf
Rin dashed forward like the wind. The wolves barely had time to move before they fell lifelessly to the ground.
Saki held her ground as well — her knife movements were sharp and precise, keeping the wolves at bay.
But suddenly — dozens of crimson arrows streaked through the air, aimed directly at her.
Neither Saki nor Hayato reacted fast enough.
Only Rin, with his incredible speed, noticed in time.
He sprinted toward her with insane velocity, blocking a barrage of arrows.
But even with his speed, they weren't unscathed — two arrows pierced Saki, one in her left shoulder and one in her right leg, disabling her completely.
Rin himself took one to the arm, but it wasn't as bad.
> Hayato (shouting): Saki! Rin! Are you okay?!
Hayato rushed over, worry etched on his face.
Rin glanced at Saki — her injuries were deep and severe.
Saki reached out, trying to heal Rin first, but he stopped her.
> Rin: No. Heal yourself first. Your wounds are serious.
Saki: But—
Rin: Do it. You'll need strength to heal me later.
Saki: ...Fine. I'll hurry.
Rin tore off a strip of cloth, tying his wound tightly.
Good thing I always carry this. If only electronics worked in these gates, healing would be so much easier.
> Rin (to Hayato): Stay with her. Protect her — the wolves will take this chance to strike. I'll deal with that thing.
Hayato: You'll be outnumbered!
Rin: I'll manage.
Then, from atop a hill, it appeared — a strange wolf standing on two legs.
Its fur shimmered green with black markings, and it held a glowing blue bow, arrows crimson like blood.
The Gate Boss.
Everyone froze — even Rin's calm expression faltered.
> Hayato: What... a wolf standing on two legs? With a bow?!
The Sniper Wolf didn't wait. It ordered half the wolves to attack Hayato and Saki, the other half to assault Rin.
Then it began firing rapidly at Rin itself — having already recognized him as the biggest threat.
Rin dodged and countered, cutting through enemies while analyzing.
Damn it... this is a well-planned ambush. I didn't expect the boss to have its own energy weapon.
Level 5 gates shouldn't have creatures like this.
Pressure mounted — wolves closing in, arrows flying, his injury slowing him slightly.
Rin clenched his teeth.
It planned everything...
Flashbacks:
Flashback 1 : When Ren and his team arrived at the exposed area
He lured us into this open field — no trees, no cover.
Flashback 2 : When the stocks headed towards Saki
He targeted Saki first to cripple our healer.
Flashback 3 : When Ren rushed to protect Saki
He knew I'd rush to save her... calculated my speed perfectly.
If I get hit even once, my speed drops. Clever bastard.
Arrows. Wolves. Endless attacks.
This pressure... I need to use it.
> Rin (whispering): Time to use that ability… "Breaking of Nature." Still no name, but it'll do.
Dozens of red arrows were flying toward him.
> Rin: Breaking of Nature — Movement Suppression, 90%.
A faint blue circle appeared around him, visible only to Rin.
Inside it — silence. The air itself seemed frozen.
The moment arrows and wolves entered the 2-meter radius, their speed dropped drastically — almost to a stop.
To an observer, it looked as if time had frozen.
Rin sliced through the wolves effortlessly and redirected several arrows back toward the boss.
The Sniper Wolf blinked, confused — and then one arrow grazed it.
Angered, it fired even more.
Rin kept activating his ability, slowing, redirecting, slicing — again and again — until the field was littered with corpses.
>Only the boss remains… but I'm getting exhausted. This power drains too much energy.
He noticed something strange as he used it again.
Wait… the range has expanded. And the duration's longer. Is this ability… evolving?
> Rin (yelling): Hayato! The daggers!
Hayato threw them. Rin caught them midair, dashed toward the boss in a zigzag blur.
The wolf fired rapidly, but Rin slowed the arrows, canceled the effect mid-flight — they suddenly sped up, catching the wolf off guard.
The wolf barely dodged, then saw two daggers flying at it. It blocked them—
But it didn't notice the sword thrown right behind them.
The blade pierced its skull cleanly.
Rin stood over the fallen beast.
> Rin: You weren't the only smart one here… I'm clever too.
He exhaled slowly, analyzing what just happened.
I used the same pattern every time — he got used to it, confident. Then I canceled it suddenly, made him focus on dodging.
The daggers were just bait — the sword was the real strike.
> Rin (quietly): You were strong. You deserved to be the gate's boss.
---
Scene Five: Exiting the Gate
Rin turned toward Hayato and Saki — or rather, toward Saki specifically.
Hayato stared at Rin, completely speechless.
Saki had finished healing herself and partially treated Hayato.
When Rin reached them, he collapsed.
> Saki: Rin! Are you alright?!
Hayato: Heal him! He's bleeding!
Saki: Right, on it!
As she healed him, Hayato thought:
Rin... you finished the gate alone.
> Hayato (softly): We were useless. Just burdens. He could've cleared it alone without a single wound.
Saki: You're right… he saved both our lives.
Hayato: Let's get him out of here.
Saki: Yeah.
They carried Rin out of the gate.
Outside, the organization's staff member rushed to them, alarmed at the sight of Rin unconscious.
> Staff: What happened?! Is he alright?!
Hayato: Yeah. Just fainted.
Staff: He just got his Hunter License hours ago — he shouldn't have been sent to this gate!
Hayato: You're wrong. We were the burden, not him.
Staff: What?!
Hayato: Don't be shocked — he's incredibly strong. If he'd gone alone, this would've ended faster — and safer.
Staff: You spent four hours inside. Was there anything unusual?
Saki: Yes. The number of wolves was huge… and their boss was a wolf standing on two legs.
Staff: What?!
Saki: Even stranger — he had a bow made of his own energy.
Staff: I see… I'll report this immediately.
There's an ambulance waiting. Let's take him to the hospital.
> Hayato: I'll go with him.
Saki: Me too. He saved our lives.
Staff: Alright, let's move.
They got into the ambulance and sped toward the hospital.
---
Scene Six: The Hospital
After a short drive, they arrived. Rin was taken into a medical room for examination.
Minutes later, a nurse came out.
> Nurse: He's fine. Just needs a day of observation — nothing serious.
Hayato: Alright. Where can I pay the bill?
Nurse: That man over there handles payments.
Hayato: Thanks.
Nurse: You're welcome.
---
Scene Seven: Heart of Silence
The next morning was beautiful.
Sunlight filtered gently through Rin's window, touching his face like a quiet promise of life.
He was still asleep — dreamless — until something strange appeared in his mind.
An endless white space... and black letters forming slowly before him:
🌑 Heart of Silence🌑
Rin's eyes shot open. Confusion and calm surprise mixed on his face.
> Rin: What… " Heart of Silence "? What does that even mean?
The wind brushed through his black hair, as if announcing the b
eginning of something new —
Something that would change everything.
— End of Chapter 3 —
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